Alexander Callens looks on disappointed after New York City FC conceded the only goal in a 1-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls in Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup action at Red Bull Arena on June 15. The result was the Red Bulls’ sixth win over NYCFC in seven Hudson River Derbies overall. (Photo Credit: NYCFC)
NEW YORK —— It has only been nine days since the last time New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls last met, but given the hype surrounding the rematch, one can’t be blamed for feeling like that Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup fourth round showdown happened a century ago.
Now the rivals meet for the first of three meetings in Major League Soccer play in what will be the third season of the Hudson River Derby, a series which has grown significantly in significance throughout the league since its inception.
And while their last meeting was a near even split, described as a tale of two halves by both goalkeepers projected to start on Saturday, the fact of the matter is that the rivalry has been all red.
The Red Bulls, once again playing hosts, have won 6 of the first 7 meetings against their cross-river rivals, their only loss coming last season at Yankee Stadium, the same venue they scored a club record seven goals in an iconic 7-0 victory.
NYCFC is keen in changing that, hoping that Saturday’s match can be the beginning of the tide shifting.
“We hope the result this game will be different and we can play well and take the three points,” said striker David Villa, the club’s all-time goalscorer who reached 51 last weekend.
The Boys in Blue will have to do it without one of their best players.
Maxi Moralez, the tiny midfielder with a big influence who provided a team-leading seven assists so far in his debut season, was declared not fit for the match in an injury report released Friday, leaving head coach Patrick Vieira with the headache of replacing him for a second straight week.
The second-year manager floated the idea of using two strikers, but the most likely solution is the one he went with against the defending MLS champions Seattle Sounders last week — moving Jack Harrison from the wing to central midfield.
NYCFC would win the match directly because of Harrison, who fed a lovely assist to David Villa for the game-winning goal, but that would arrive after the second-year player moved back to his natural position.
Vieira wouldn’t get the best look at how Harrison fit in the role given his team were playing more water polo than football, a downpour of rain turning the already treacherous turf at Yankee Stadium into a pool. Regardless, both manager and player remain confident in Harrison’s ability.
“Really, it was exciting to be back there again, I haven’t played there in a while,” Harrison said. “I enjoyed it. We’ll have to see what happen.”
The home side saw a tactical shift go in its favor in its last outing as well. Struggling to break a deadlock against the Philadelphia Union Sunday, head coach Jesse Marsch switched the position of Felipe and Sacha Kljestan in midfield, shifting the former from deep to forward and vice-versa.
The result was a better exploitation of a man-up situation after Derrick Jones received a red card in the 54th minute, the space in between the lines eventually taken advantage of when Bradley Wright-Phillips scored a brace in the final five minutes to seal a 2-0 win.
Kljestan said he wasn’t sure the move is something that the team will use in the long-term. Admitting the position he played in with Anderlecht is perhaps his best, he also said he felt he was the best attacking midfielders in MLS in his past two seasons with the Red Bulls. Kljestan went on to claim he believed he’d be the best box-to-box midfielder in the league if he were put there as well.
Suffice to say, he’s not short on confidence.
“It was important for us to be able to build out of the back a little bit more and it helped. I was able to get on the ball more,” Kljestan said of the Union match. “I had a ton of touches in that game. I was able to just help us have and sustain possession in deep spots and moving us up the field. … I have complete faith in my abilities no matter where Jesse puts me on the field, I’m going to help the team make plays.”
In a rare moment of unity in the rivalry, both teams share in the same fortune entering Saturday.
Each missing their starting left-back in their meeting a week ago, both sides will be at full strength in the position for Saturday — NYCFC announced Ronald Matarrita is fit, while Kemar Lawrence put in a solid 45 second-half minutes in Philadelphia.
Whether either starts is still a mystery as neither coach has confirmed nor denied any changes, each having a solid reason for leaving them on the bench.
Matarrita has only started one of NYCFC’s last 11 matches, with Ben Sweat taking ownership of the role — moving him to the bench would risk ruining the continuity of the side. Kemar Lawrence has started all but two matches this season, one of which being the Open Cup match with NYCFC. In his absence, Aaron Long, a natural center-back, had one of his best games of the year, shutting down Harrison for the entire night.
If history repeats, be it with or without Long in the starting line-up, the Red Bulls will come within a point of NYCFC in the Eastern Conference standings, furthering their massive dominance of the Hudson River Derby rivalry in the process.
If the Boys in Blue are able to snatch a win, it’ll be a big step in many directions — maintaining pace in the fight for the Supporters Shield, keeping the Red Bulls at arms length in the standings, and most importantly, shrinking the seemingly ever-increasing gap between their rivals.
On paper and in Villa’s mind, this is NYCFC’s best team of its three years of existence, meaning now more than ever is the time for the tide to turn. But matches are played on the pitch, where the Red Bulls have run rampant against the Blues.
“I think we have more quality, more talented players (than ever), but I don’t like to talk a lot,” Villa said. “I believe in my words, I believe it’s true, my mind thinks it’s true that we have talented players, but we have to put it on the pitch, not only what is said in the press conference. I think we played well until now, but I think we have a lot of power in the future because our team, with the passing of the days, with the passing of the games, I think we improve and I think we are better and better and better to get ready for the playoffs and we need to show in the pitch.”
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Follow Brian Fonseca on Twitter @briannnnf for updates. Email him at brianfilipefonseca@gmail.com with questions, concerns, tips or story ideas.
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